February 9, 1994
The Cairo Agreement
The two sides agreed on the attached text to be included in the
Gaza-Jericho Agreement.
The Jericho Area
1. The size of the Jericho Area will be as depicted on the agreed map
attached to this Agreement.
2. In addition, while not part of the Jericho Area:
a. Pending the entry into force of the Interim Agreement, the holy
site of Nebi Mousa will be under the auspices of the
Palestinian Authority for religious purposes.
b. During religious events that take place three times a year and
other special occasions that will be coordinated with the
Israeli authorities, Palestinians will have the right to
religious pilgrimage to the al-Maghtas under the Palestinian
flag.
c. Palestinian private projects, as well as joint ventures in
accordance with the Declaration of Principles, will be located
as agreed on the shore of the Dead Sea.
d. Safe passage will be provided from the Jericho Area to Nebi
Mousa, al-Maghtas and the projects and ventures as agreed in
paragraph c. above on the shore of the Dead Sea for the above
mentioned purposes. Details regarding the safe passage
arrangements will be included in the Gaza-Jericho Agreement.
3. Roads within Jericho city will be under Palestinian control. Joint
patrols on the main roads will be operated, led by the Palestinian
vehicle. The issue of Auja and its roads will be negotiated in the
immediate future in Taba.
4. Religious affairs in the "Shalom Al Israel" Synagogue in Jericho
will be under the auspices of the Israeli authorities.
The Gaza Strip
1. In accordance with the D.O.P., during the interim period the Gush
Katif and Erez settlement areas, as well as the other settlements
in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli military installation area
along the Egyptian border in the Gaza Strip, as indicated on the
attached map, will be under Israeli authority. In the areas
delineated in yellow on the attached map and without derogating
from Palestinian authority, responsibility will be shared as
follows: the Israeli authorities will have the overriding
responsibility and powers for security and the Palestinian
Authority will have the responsibility and powers for civil
affairs, subject to the Gaza-Jericho Agreement. In addition, with
regard to those areas delineated in yellow, cooperation and
coordination in security matters, including joint patrols, as
agreed, will be implemented. Possible changes in the area
designated yellow in the Southern Security Zone will be dealt with
in Taba.
2. Without derogating from Palestinian authority and in accordance
with the D.O.P.:
(a) On the three lateral roads connecting the Israeli settlements
in the Gaza Strip to Israel, namely: the Kissufim-Gush Katif
road; the Sufa-Gush Katif road; and the Nahal Oz-Karni-
Nezzarim road, including the adjacent sides upon which the
security of traffic along these roads is dependent, the
Israeli authorities will have all necessary responsibilities
and powers in order to conduct independent security activity,
including Israeli patrols.
(b) Joint Israeli-Palestinian patrols will operate along these
roads and the adjacent sides. Such joint patrols will be led
by the Israeli vehicle.
(c) Where the Israeli authorities carry out engagement steps,
they will do so with a view to transferring, at the earliest
opportunity, the continued handling of the incidents falling
within Palestinian responsibility to the Palestinian Police.
(d) Overpasses will be constructed on intersections between the
lateral roads and the main north-south road.
(e) These arrangements will be reviewed by the JSCCC after one
year from the date of completion of the withdrawal of Israeli
forces from the Gaza Strip.
3. Zoning questions will be dealt with in Taba.
Other Issues
The early empowerment agreement will be negotiated in Taba, after the
completion of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement. The Interim Agreement,
including modalities for elections and redeployment of forces in the
West Bank, will be negotiated in Washington, D.C.
February 9, 1994
FINAL VERSION
ARTICLE --
Passages
1. General
a. While Israel remains responsible during the interim period for
external security, including along the Egyptian border and the
Jordanian line, border crossing shall take place according to
the arrangements included in this Article. These arrangements
aim at creating a mechanism that facilitates the entry and exit
of people and goods, reflecting the new reality created by the
Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, while providing
full security for both sides.
b. The arrangements included in this Article shall apply to the
following border crossings:
(1) the Allenby Bridge crossing; and
(2) the Rafah crossing.
c. The same arrangements will be applied by the parties, with the
necessary adjustments, to agreed seaports, airports or other
international crossings, such as the Abdullah and Damya
bridges.
d. The two sides are determined to do their utmost to maintain the
dignity of persons passing through the border crossings. To
this end, the mechanism created will rely heavily on brief and
modern procedures.
e. In each border crossing there will be one terminal, consisting
of two wings. The first wing will serve Palestinian residents
of the Gaza Strip and West Bank and visitors to these areas
(hereinafter "the Palestinian Wing"). The second wing will
serve Israelis and others (hereinafter "the Israeli Wing").
There will be a closed Israeli checking area and a closed
Palestinian checking area, as set out below.
f. Special arrangements will apply to V.I.P.s crossing through the
Palestinian Wing. The liaison bureau to be established pursuant
to paragraph 5 below (hereinafter "the Liaison Bureau") will
define the scope and the nature of these special arrangements.
2. Control and Management of the Passages
a. For the purpose of this Article, "passage" is defined to mean
the area from the crossing-barrier at the Egyptian border or
the Allenby Bridge, passing through and including the terminal
and:
(1) with regard to the Allenby Bridge crossing, from the
terminal up to the Jericho Area; and
(2) with regard to the Rafah crossing, from the terminal up to
the outer limit of the Israel military location along the
Egyptian border.
b. (1) Israel will have the responsibility for security
throughout the passage, including for the terminal.
(2) An Israeli director-general will have the responsibility
for the management and security of the terminal.
(3) The director-general will have two deputies who will
report to him:
(a) an Israeli deputy who will be the manager of the
Israeli Wing. Israel will have exclusive
responsibility for the management of the Israeli Wing;
and
(b) a Palestinian deputy, appointed by the Palestinian
Authority, who will be the manager of the Palestinian
Wing.
(4) Each deputy will have an assistant for security and an
assistant for administration. The assignments of the
Palestinian deputies for security and administration will
be agreed upon by the two sides in Taba.
(5) There will be maximum coordination between the two sides.
Both sides will maintain cooperation and coordination on
matters of mutual concern.
(6) The director-general will continue to use Palestinian
contractors to provide bus services and other
administrative and logistical services.
(7) Palestinian policemen present at the terminal will be
armed with handguns. Their deployment will be decided upon
in Taba. Other Palestinian officials present at the
terminal will be unarmed.
(8) The details of management and security and Liaison Bureau
issues will be dealt with in Taba.
(9) The two sides will work together in Taba in order to seek
ways for additional arrangements in the Rafah terminal.
(10) Both Parties will review these procedures in a year time.
c. Except for the arrangements included in this Article, the
current procedures and arrangements applicable outside the
terminal shall continue to apply throughout the passage.
d. (1) Once incoming passengers have crossed the terminal, they
will proceed to the Jericho Area or the Gaza Strip, as
appropriate, without any interference from Israeli
authorities (safe passage).
(2) Outgoing passengers may proceed to the terminal without
any interference from Israeli authorities after joint
verification that such passengers hold the necessary
documentation for exiting the area to Jordan or Egypt, as
set out in this Agreement.
3. Arrangements for Entry from Egypt and Jordan through the
Palestinian Wing
a. At the entrance to the Palestinian Wing there will be a
Palestinian policeman and a raised Palestinian flag.
b. Before entering the Palestinian Wing, passengers will identify
their personal luggage and it will be placed on a conveyor
belt. Each side will be able to inspect such luggage inside its
own checking area, using its own personnel and, if necessary,
may open the luggage for inspection in the presence of the
owner and a Palestinian policeman.
c. Persons entering the Palestinian Wing will pass through a
magnetic gate. An Israeli policeman and a Palestinian policeman
will be posted on each side of this gate. In the event of
suspicion, each side will be entitled to require a physical
inspection to be conducted in inspection booths to be located
adjacent to the gate. Passengers will be inspected by a
Palestinian policeman in the presence of an Israeli policeman.
Accompanying personal belongings may also be inspected at this
point.
d. Having completed the above phase, persons entering the
Palestinian Wing will pass through one of three lanes for the
purpose of identification and document control, as follows:
(1) The first lane will be used by Palestinian residents of
the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area. These passengers will
pass via a Palestinian counter, where their documents and
identity will be checked. Their documents will be checked
by an Israeli officer who will also check their identity
indirectly in an invisible manner.
(2) The second lane will serve other Palestinian residents of
the West Bank. These passengers will first pass via a
Palestinian counter, where their documents and identity
will be checked. Then they will continue via an Israeli
counter, where their documents and identity will be
checked. The two counters will be separated by tinted
glass and a revolving door.
(3) The third lane will serve visitors to the Gaza Strip and
West Bank. An identical procedure as in paragraph 3.d(2)
above will apply to such visitors, except that they will
first pass via the Israeli counter, and then continue via
the Palestinian counter.
e. In the event of suspicion regarding a passenger in any of the
three lanes described in paragraph d. above, each side may
question such passenger in its closed checking area. Suspicion
justifying questioning in the closed checking area may be one
of the following:
(1) the passenger was involved, directly or indirectly, in
criminal or planned criminal activity, in terrorist or
planned terrorist activity and is not a beneficiary of the
amnesty provisions of this Agreement.
(2) the passenger conceals arms, explosives -- or related
equipment;
(3) the passenger holds forged or non-valid documentation or
the details included in the documentation are inconsistent
with those included in the population registry (in case of
a resident) or in the data base (in case of a visitor),
except that questions relating to such inconsistency will
initially be raised at the counter and the passenger will
be questioned in the closed checking area only if the
suspicion has not been removed; or
(4) the passenger acts in an obviously suspicious behavior
during the passage via the terminal.
If, at the conclusion of this questioning, the suspicion has
not been removed, such passenger may be apprehended, after the
other side has been notified. In case of a Palestinian -
suspect being apprehended by the Israeli side, a Palestinian
policeman will be asked to meet with the suspect. Following
notification to the Liaison Bureau, any further treatment of
the apprehended person will be in accordance with Annex III
(Protocol Concerning Legal Arrangements in Criminal Matters).
f. In the Palestinian Wing, each side will have the authority to
deny the entry of persons who are not residents of the Gaza
Strip and West Bank.
For the purpose of this Agreement, "residents of the Gaza Strip
and West Bank" shall mean persons who, on the date of entry
into force of this Agreement, are registered as residents of
these areas in the population registry maintained by the
military government of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, as well as
persons who have subsequently obtained permanent residency in
these areas with the approval of Israel, as set out in this
Agreement.
g. Following the above procedure, the passengers will collect
their luggage and proceed to the customs area . (The procedures
will be agreed upon in Paris.)
h. The Palestinian side will provide passengers whose entry is
approved with an entry permit stamped by the Palestinian side
and attached to their documents.
At the conclusion of the direct and indirect checking of the
documents and identity of passengers passing via the first lane
and stamping their entry permits, the Palestinian officer will
provide the passenger with a white card issued by the Israeli
officer. A Palestinian official posted at the exit of the
Palestinian Wing will verify that the passenger holds such a
white card and will collect the cards with indirect and
invisible Israeli checking.
For passengers going through the second and third lanes, the
Israeli officer will provide the passengers with a blue card,
after checking their documents and identity, and verifying
their entry permits. An Israeli and a Palestinian official
posted at the exit of the Palestinian Wing will verify and
collect the cards. White and blue cards collected will be
checked by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
In cases where either side denies the entry of a non-resident
passenger, that passenger will be escorted out of the terminal
and sent back to Jordan or Egypt, as appropriate, after
notifying the other side.
4. Arrangements for Exit to Egypt and Jordan through the Palestinian
Wing
Passengers exiting to Egypt or Jordan through the Palestinian Wing
will enter the terminal without their luggage. Thereafter, the
same procedures described in paragraph 3 above will apply to them,
except that the order of passing via the Israeli and Palestinian
counters will be reversed.
5. Liaison Bureau
a. There will be a liaison bureau at each crossing point in order
to deal with matters arising regarding passengers passing
through the Palestinian Wing, issues requiring coordination,
and differences regarding the implementation of these
arrangements. Without derogating from Israel's responsibility
for security, the bureau will also deal with incidents.
b. This bureau will be comprised of an equal number of
representatives from each side and will be located at a
specified location inside each terminal.
c. This bureau will be subordinate to the CAC and to the relevant
RCCO.
6. Miscellaneous
a. Special arrangements will be agreed upon by the two sides
regarding the passage of goods, buses, trucks and privately-
owned vehicles. Pending this agreement, the current
arrangements will continue to apply.
b. Israel will attempt to complete the structural alterations on
the Rafah and Allenby Bridge terminals not later than the date
of the completion of the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the
Gaza Strip and Jericho Area.
If these structural alterations are not completed by that time,
the arrangements described in this Article shall apply, except
for those arrangements that cannot be implemented without the
structural alterations.
c. In order to cross through the crossing points in and out of the
Gaza Strip and Jericho Area, residents of these areas will use
documents as detailed in (the Annex developed by the civilian
committee). Pending the entry into force of the Interim
Agreement, other West Bank residents will continue to use the
existing documents issued by the military government and its
Civil Administration.
d. Visitors to the Gaza Strip and Jericho Area will be permitted
to remain in these areas for a period of up to three months
granted by the Palestinian Authority and approved by Israel.
The Palestinian Authority may extend this three-month period
for an additional period of up to three months and will inform
Israel about the extension. Any further extensions require the
approval of Israel. The Palestinian request for a a four-month
period and an additional four months will be negotiated in Taba
in the immediate future.
e. The Palestinian Authority will ensure that visitors referred to
in paragraph d. above will not overstay the duration of their
entry permit and authorized extensions.
Note - Abbreviations:
JSCCC - Joint Security Coordination and Cooperation Committee
CAC - Civil Affairs Committee
RCCO - Regional Coordination and Cooperation Office
.